


Change of Heart

by orphan_account



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF, The Creatures | Cow Chop RPF
Genre: Character/Reader - Freeform, Cow Chop - Freeform, F/M, ImmortalHD, Reader-Insert, Rooster Teeth - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-16
Updated: 2018-05-16
Packaged: 2019-04-23 18:43:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14338701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: You're an up and coming YouTuber attending a con where you will be hosting your very own panel for the first time. While in attendance, you run into the Cow Chop crew. One of them happens to catch your eye... And it would be a lie to say he isn't interested too.





	1. Con Day

_**YOU CAN TAKE A SWING AT MY EGO... YOU CAN MAKE A RUN FOR MY CROWN...**_ **  
**

You are startled awake by the sound of your alarm, and nearly throw yourself off the bed when you sit straight up. Had you really set it this early?  _(However early it was...)_

An angry sigh leaves you as you search for your phone, presumably lost in the sheets and tumbling around whilst it continues to blare out a song that you have only grown to  _hate_ while using it as an alarm. After about five exasperating minutes, you realize  _it isn't even in the bed._ The song has started to loop and already, your head hurts. Once you throw your legs over the edge of your bed, you pause to listen.  _Where is that damn thing?_

     _ **There'll be no need for crying... If darkness fills the skies...**_

A- _ha!_

You slip off the hotel bed, dropping to your knees and ducking to peek underneath it, where you finally see your phone. It sits, lonely but loud underneath your bed. You manage to awkwardly shove enough of your arm under the bed to swipe it and turn the alarm off, all with a sigh of relief. Yes! Quiet. Beautiful, peaceful  _quiet!_  As you laugh softly to yourself, you check the time, and the laughter comes to a halt.

Fuck!  _You're late!_

You are scrambling to get yourself together in a matter of moments, tugging jeans on while you brush your teeth and make sure the bag you packed the night before is good enough for the day ahead. Today is your first convention as a  _YouTuber,_  and you had promised your friends you would be outside of your hotel room and ready to go by seven thirty. Of course, it was nearing seven thirty and your hair was being incredibly difficult. You decide to leave it as is, instead opting to focus on making sure you have everything with you. Your keys, your chargers, your wallet, your passes...

You still cannot believe you'll be hosting your first panel, meeting your very own fans and mingling with some of the more famous YouTubers you see all around. You wonder if you will even have time to meet any of your own favorites. You find yourself lost in thoughts of the people behind your favorite channels and what they must be like in person. You do not notice the harsh knocks until a few minutes later, while your friend shouts through the door.

"( **Y/N!!!** ) Come on!! We have to go if we want to get there on time!!"  
"Coming!!"

Instead of putting your shoes on, you pick them up off the floor and run out. You can put them on during the drive there. 

Even though the ride there is short, and you arrive early, many others seem to have the same idea and the place is absolutely packed. You sigh to yourself, tying your shoelaces while your friend circles the lot for a parking spot. You point one out, and the group is thankful for your quick eye as they pull in. Someone drives past, obviously angry that they missed the spot. You all share a laugh and get out of the car. While you head toward the entrance, you take a quick minute to think. You are unsure of how you  _feel_  - excited, nervous, happy - it all mixes into one weird emotion that sits like a rock among the butterflies in your stomach. 

When you are at the convention center, you feel a little lost and ask a staff member for directions. He gets you on your way, and you pass a lot of people setting things up for the day. At this point in the morning, you wonder just who else could be here. Maybe you had shown up a little too early; the place is meant to be empty, sure, but it feels pretty bare when you think about just how many people are  _supposed_ to show up.  When you all reach where you are meant to be, you end up watching some guy set up a little booth. 

It looks like it's going to be a long wait before any real action starts, and thirty minutes pass. By then, you're sat on the floor, back against the wall as you scroll through your social media accounts. 

You've posted pretty much everywhere about how excited you are to be attending the convention, and your subscribers and followers seem just as hyped. Even though you said you probably aren't going to vlog, you feel ready to break out the camera. Just as you reach into your bag to do so, one of your friends taps your arm, a little too hard for your liking. You look up to her, and she is pointing across the room. 

"( **Y/N** )! ( **Y/N** )!!! Look! Oh my god!" 

You follow her gaze and you feel your stomach flip with shock and surprise.

It's the guys from Cow Chop! 

Your breath catches in your throat at the sight of them and you fumble, putting your camera back into your bag and forgetting all about your intentions to vlog. Instead, you slip your phone into your pocket and stand up, slinging your bag over your shoulder and dusting your behind off. You can't believe they're here as early as you! Turning back to your friend, she grips your arm and you share a look before she speaks in a quieter tone.

" _What do we do_?"  
"Uh... I mean, we might as well go over and say hi, right?"  
"I guess - but how?! You don't think they'd think we're weird, do you?"  
"No? I'm sure they're used to fans coming up to them all the time."  
"Oh my god, ( **Y/N** ).  _Ohhh my god._  Okay, okay, but you have to go first."

You feel nervous as she says this, but you nod anyway, accepting your leader position and walking ahead of the other two. You get about halfway across the room when one of the guys notices you all. James. He must see the panic in your eyes because he offers an awkward smile and waves. He is obviously unsure of who you are but does not want to be weird about it. You return the smile with one that is intended to be calm and polite but probably ends up making you look even weirder. 

"Uhm-" You stop, watching all of their eyes turn on you. You offer that same little wave that James had given.

"Hey. I'm uh-- I'm ( **Y/N** ). These are my friends. Uh- We're big fans!" 


	2. I Know You.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You meet the Cow Chop crew, and have a run in with an unfortunate something.

_"...These are my friends. Uh- We're big fans!"_

"Oh, cool. Nice to meet you guys." Brett speaks up, politely smiling. They all give quiet greetings, confused as to why you are there, and you laugh a little. God, you feel incredibly awkward. You don't know why your friend had you lead the way here; as bold as you can be on camera, your real life conversational skills need a little more work. Whatever, you decide to just keep going. It isn't like you'll ever get this opportunity again.

"Nice to meet you too! Uh- Would you mind if we got some pictures? Do you have time for that?"

"Yeah, dude." James nods. "But, how come you guys are here? The place doesn't open for another, uh..." He checks his phone. "Another hour."

"Oh, I'm actually doing a panel across the hall in a little while. " You point to the door you had all just been sitting near. Though they seem a little skeptical, they all give various murmurs of understanding and James nods.

"Gotcha, okay. What's your channel name?"  
"It's ( **C/N** ). I'm not crazy well known but I--"

Aleks cuts you off. " _You're_  ( **C/N** )?! I didn't even recognize you! I just got into your shit a couple months ago."

Now you're  _really_  taken aback.  _Aleks knows who you are?_

"Really?"  
"Yeah. I don't watch a ton of shit but we found your channel when we were filming for the wrong, dark, whatever side of YouTube. It was in the recommended. We watched it but it wasn't, like, weird or anything so we moved on. "  
"Wow."  
"Yeah. You're a lot quieter in person."  
"Oh. That's... I mean, I guess that's pretty cool. Sorry. I just didn't think you guys would know who I am."

"Well, technically, the rest of us don't." Jakob says, and you shrug.  _Ouch._

"Anyway, you guys wanted pictures, right?"  
"Yeah. My friend ( **F/N** )'ll take them, if that's cool."  
"For sure." 

Soon, you're all gathered together for pictures. It feels surreal to be surrounded by the group of people you've been following since the beginning of their channel, but you manage to smile calmly and get a few pictures in. While your friend takes them, you stand between James and Aleks, smiling and trying not to invade their space too much. You desperately want to be seen as a normal fan - because you  _are,_  but your anxiety gets the better of you sometimes. They seem unbothered, but you worry quite a bit about what they're actually thinking.

A few photos before you separate, you feel Aleks adjust to your right, his hand dropping to rest on your hip instead of on your shoulder. You can feel your face heating up, but you try not to pay it any mind as your friend lowers the camera. The group starts to separate, but as James leaves your left side, Aleks lingers. Slowly, you drop your arm, and he realizes his friends are saying their goodbyes. He clears his throat and lets you go, and you laugh a little, chalking it up to him being absentminded. 

You get wishes of luck on your first panel, and you thank the guys for their time. Your friends are exchanging words of excitement over having met the guys, and they're moving on to their destination before you know it; as you watch them go, you lean over to your friend holding the camera. He raises a brow at you, but you explain yourself before he can ask you anything.

"Is it just me, or was Aleks acting kind of funny?"  
"What do you mean?"  
"Look at the photos."

He's confused, but he obliges and checks the camera. There aren't too many pictures, but enough for you to leaf through. You make him stop on one in particular and point Aleks out. He seems to be looking more at you than the camera, and you guess that this was after he had moved his hand. Your friend studies the picture for a minute, but he shrugs.

"I mean, he was probably just stiff or something. It's early."

Maybe he's right. You turn to look after the group again, but they've disappeared. May as well go back to your waiting spot.

  .｡.:*☆ time skip! ☆.｡.:*

Your panel was a total success, and you feel energetic even after an hour and a half of speaking and answering questions from the people that had shown up to see you. You feel really grateful as you watch the crowd clear out, probably to move on to the next activity or panel or booth. You're quick to gather your own things when they're gone, since you have to be out before the next person comes in to use the room for themselves. 

Once outside, one of your friends says that she has a headache, and asks if it would be okay if she went back to the hotel. You feel iffy about letting her, but decide that you can't force her to stay. You make your other friend hand over the camera from earlier and help her back, so that he can bring the car back. You promise not to do anything special without him, so you're stuck wandering for a little while. You get recognized a few times, and get to take photos with some of your fans. It makes you feel hopeful about the future of your channel, you're definitely coming up in the world. 

Even after meeting people, your friends seem to be taking a long time. You send them both a text to ask if everything is okay, and decide to head toward one of the entrances. It's definitely a little boring to have to wait for someone, it's kind of like being a kid in a candy store. So many things to see and do, but having your mom tell you no to everything... You sigh, playing some game on your phone while you wait for a text back.

You don't notice someone approaching. At least, not until they smack right into you.

You're shocked, and you feel the wind knocked out of you when this person collides with you. You're dazed, but not enough to not notice the person's wrestled your bag off you. You're shocked, and you pull yourself up to stand as quickly as you can. This person, a tall man, probably a little bigger than you, turns to run. You can't let your bag go! Everything's in there! You take off running after him, but you can't get yourself to catch up to him, he's too fast. 

From behind, someone passes you, seemingly in pursuit of this guy as well. You're so focused that it takes you a minute to realized who it is.

_It's Aleks!_

Aleks still lags a little behind the man, and you're straining yourself to keep up as the three of you push through the crowd. You wonder where the con security is as all of this happens, and why they haven't intervened yet. Up ahead, you see Aleks finally catch up to the thief, and he does his best to tackle the guy to the ground. They fall into an awkward heap, and you cringe as your bag flops on the floor. You plead to whoever is listening that your stuff remains okay inside. When you catch up, you're just about gasping for breath and feeling like you've covered the entirety of the convention center. 

On the floor, Aleks wrestles in a mess of tangled limbs with the man, who kicks out and catches your ankle. You stumble and fall right into the commotion, and it takes a crowd surrounding you before a member of security comes over and separates everyone to ask what's going on. You explain to them through fast breaths, and they promptly boot the guy from the building, and warn both you and Aleks to be careful. You're surprised he hadn't been kicked out, for the reckless running if anything. Either way, you step over to collect your bag and hug it close to your chest. You're almost afraid to look inside.

"Uh-- Hey, ( **Y/N** ), right?" Aleks finally speaks up, out of breath himself. 

"Yeah."  
"You're-- You're uh, bleeding."

You feel surprised, and when he points down at your leg you realize he's right. You must have scraped yourself on something when you fell, and blood slowly trails down your leg. 

"Oh."

Uh oh. You  _hate_ blood. One of life's unfortunate phobia's that you've been struck with. You stare blankly at it, unsure of what to do. You can feel your adrenaline levels draining, the sight of the blood makes your head swim, the commotion's made you anxious, and you suddenly  _need_  to sit down. You need to calm yourself after all of this, so you take a step away from Aleks. Maybe you can relax for a minute before--

Too late. You collapse there against one of the walls, still conscious but exhausted; your legs hurt, badly, and Aleks looks both panicked and unsure of what to do. You feel embarrassed, but you sit still as you clutch your bag closely. That's all that matters. The bag. 

"( **Y/N** )...?"

You lower your head to rest it, but you pass out before you can even begin to get yourself together.


	3. Bad Attitude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You wake up after your ordeal only to be accosted about your fears.

You awake with a start, a harsh gasp as you are shot back into reality. 

You're a little disoriented, and unsure of where you even are. You don't even have a chance to sit up before someone bombards you. 

"( **Y/N** )?"

You can't place the voice, but whoever it is, their hands are upon you to steady you. You feel dizzy from sitting upright and you squeeze your eyes shut to try and center yourself. It doesn't help as much as you would have liked, but you have an overwhelming need to get yourself under control before you speak to the person beside you. It takes you a few minutes, but you finally take a peek next to you. 

"Aleks...?"  
"Are you okay? What the fuck even happened?"   
"Wait. Why are you here? Where are we?"   
"Somebody had to lug you here - we're in the med tent. You passed out. "

You can see that he's a little disheveled, and it slowly begins to come back to you. The attempted theft, Aleks coming to your rescue, and the scuffle you'd been dragged into. You bring a hand to your head, scratching the back as you look down to your lap. This is incredibly embarrassing, you passed out thanks to that scrape or whatever it was. You lean over to see your injury, and there's only a couple band-aids over it. Your face flushes. 

"( **Y/N** )."

You look up,  and though you have a feeling Aleks sees the embarrassment plastered all over your fact, he continues.

"You didn't answer my question. What was that?"  
"What was what?"  
"You basically passed out. Wasn't that kinda dramatic?"  
"I-... I have a.. I'm afraid of blood. Like, really afraid."  
"...But it was  _your_  blood."

You stare at him, trying to read his tone. You can't tell if he's genuinely confused by your explanation or if he's giving you a hard time. Your brows narrow and you scoot over, throwing your legs over the side of the cot you had been placed on. 

"I have a phobia of  _all_  blood, dude."  
"That's kinda dumb. Isn't there some therapy you could have to get over that? You can't just black out whenever you get a paper cut."  
"I  _don't_  pass out over  _paper cuts,_  there was a lot of blood!"  
"Whatever."

There's a little pang in your chest, it feels like disappointment. You had been so excited to know that Aleks enjoyed your content earlier; it felt like you would have eventually gotten a chance to get to know him. Now, he's treating you like you're a moron, and you can't understand why. What changed? You sigh to yourself and try to stand, but that proves to be a little difficult. You resign yourself to your fate at the medical cot until you hear a small stampede of footsteps coming your way. Aleks turns to see what the commotion's all about, and when you look up, both of your friends are racing toward you.

They both come sit by you, overlapping each other with words of worry and apologies for not coming back sooner. Aleks stands from where he'd been sitting.

" _You're welcome,_  by the way." He says, and it feels so, so overly sarcastic. You just can't read him. "I gotta go. The guys wanna see you again before  _you_  go; Lindsey insisted they check up on you. I left a number, but our signing's in like five minutes--"  
"Just go."

You surprise yourself with your own words, and it seems Aleks is just as shocked. You catch a momentary change in his expression when you speak, but he covers it up immediately. He does as you say, and disappears, on his way to their signing. You watch where he had been sitting, and sigh. What is that all about? You had only met him briefly, and you can't recall having done anything for him to be so rude. 

"What happened between you guys?" One of your friends asks, turning back to you once Aleks had been gone a minute or two. She seems concerned, and you would love to give her an answer, but you just don't know. Instead, you shrug, and reach for her hand. You squeeze it and tilt your head, feeling a little better now that you're sitting up and talking. You hope you'll be able to stand up soon, you don't even know how long you've been out.

"Doesn't matter. Are you okay? Is your headache gone?"  
"Yeah, I took a nap. We got a call from the staff about you; it's a good thing you had ( **F/N** ) as your emergency contact in your Medical ID thingy, otherwise we would've never known what the hell happened!"  
"Oh. Yeah, I guess that is good, I never figured that thing would come in handy. Speaking of which, uh... Where's my phone?"

"Your bag with all your belongings is over here, ma'am."

A staff member, having overheard your conversation, points to your bag. It sits alone behind the small table they're using as a front desk. You smile and thank them, and your friend stands up to grab it for you. Your other friend nudges you gently.

"Can you stand?"  
"Lemme try again."

You do, and thankfully, you can stand again. You're still sore, but absolutely capable of moving. You know for sure that you don't want to go home, and as you collect your things you are reminded of what Aleks said to you before leaving. The others wanted to see you. Lindsey had insisted. You can't imagine why they would care, but you're thankful that they do. You wonder what Aleks told them about what had happened, and you wonder what they think of the whole situation. Suddenly, you feel heavy. What if Aleks goes back to the others and speaks badly of you? Was your little argument drama worthy? His attitude had changed so quick, you can't even reassure yourself that everything will be fine. 

A sigh leaves your lips again as you dig your phone out of your bag, opening it up to hundreds of social media notifications from all different platforms. Everyone was already talking about what had happened. Great. Now you would be known as the YouTuber that couldn't defend herself, the one that passed out from her own little scrape! The one who Aleks had to save. 

Despite the support from your fans, there's already video flooding Twitter and Instagram of you and Aleks pursuing the thief, and video of you being knocked into the fight. You run a hand through your hair and lock your phone. It's probably better that you stay away from social media for a little while. Instead, you decide to take your camera out, and try and vlog a little. Once the entire video goes up, the hype will have died down, but you want to be able to explain yourself at least a little. 

Your friend who normally films for you plucks the camera from your hand and winks at you, assisting you with your quick update portion of the vlog. You assure your viewers that everything is alright, and that you are really thankful to Aleks for helping you out... And that you're not weak. You explain that you were just in so much shock - you're not used to so many things going on at once, and it overwhelmed you! - and as you end the section, your friends give you words of support. Your reaction is normal. 

With that out of the way, you're more than happy to explore a little, time permitting. You wanted to be back by the medical area once the Cow Chop signing was over, otherwise, where would they know to find you? Your friends encourage you to walk around, and you see plenty more of what you had missed while you were out ( which had only been about thirty minutes worth of activity ). Nearly all of your problems are forgotten over the next hour or so, and you are almost unwilling to head back to where you had come from. 

On the bright side, you had run into a streamer you were pretty fond of on the way back. They aren't very big, but they appreciated your eagerness to meet them and get a photo in with them. You feel giddy once you part ways, in disbelief. So many chance encounters in one day ( two is definitely more than you're used to! ), you know you'll head home feeling accomplished. 

You're nearly there when you get caught up in a conversation with more of your own subscribers. You feel more appreciated than ever when they tell you all about how proud they are of your growth over the past year or two. By the time you reach the medical tent, you're swelling with pride and excitement, so much so that you almost forget why you had come back in the first place. Jakob, lingering outside the tent, reminds you. He turns to the side and speaks, you're too far away to hear, but as you approach, the same group from before greets you.

"Hey, you." Brett speaks first, smiling. "You good? Heard you got into... Quite a bit of trouble for a minute there." His tone is playful, but you can still tell that he's concerned. You laugh a little, though you nod to assure them that yes, you're fine. 

"Yeah. I'm good. I'm a little shaken, I guess. Never expected anybody'd try to steal from me, not at my first con as a...  _personality._  I'd figure they'd save that for bigger channels."   
"Sometimes shit happens."  
"True."

You search the group for Aleks, wondering if he'll even be here to face you after earlier. It was nothing more than a spat, but you feel a little guilty. Even if he hadn't been the kindest, he didn't deserve to be treated that way. Besides, you could have sworn he liked you... But maybe ( **F/N** ) was right about it being early. He may have just been unsure of how to react to you. You finally do see him, standing in the back and on his phone and effectively ignoring you. 

"So," James speaks up, breaking the silence. "We just wanted to make sure everything was cool. Aleks did his superman work for the day, so we had to get in on that. Plus, Lindsey was worried. We saw all the videos."

You grimace at the mention of the videos, and Trevor cuts James off after that.

"Not that it's, like, bad. We just wanted to make sure you were okay. You looked really freaked out and it probably would've sucked if we just didn't say anything."

You nod slowly, appreciating the concern but feeling mildly uncomfortable that they've all seen you eat shit in the fall you took. Sure, you've done worse things for your videos, but it's different when it's intentional. Stupid stunts are nothing compared to having a literal panic attack in the middle of a busy convention... And to have that caught on tape and spread everywhere.

"I'm thankful for it, that's really nice of you guys. Sorry if I interrupted any plans for afterward."

"Don't worry about it, the party shit's not 'til tomorrow so we're probably gonna head home and just die." Brett says, all too casually, and you laugh. "At least until tomorrow morning."

"Right. Well, thanks again. Maybe we'll see you guys around. I don't have anything scheduled but I'll be walking around." You tell them, and they all nod. You say your proper goodbyes and they all start to head off. In another act of surprising confidence, you nab Aleks as he tails behind them all and stop him.

"What do you want?" He nearly barks at you.

"I just... Wanted to apologize. And say thank you for helping me earlier. I really appreciate it."

His face twitches just a bit, as if he's unsure of how to respond to your apology. His expression is cold, but it's also frozen, as if he's fighting with his brain to change it. He remains silent, but pockets his phone, so you take that as your cue to continue.

"I know you didn't have to help, but you did, and thanks to that I didn't lose my stuff. And I was really ungrateful afterward. So... Thank you. And sorry, again."

He opens his mouth to respond, but James calls from up ahead for him to catch up. He glances over his shoulder and  holds up a hand, signaling that he'll be there in a minute. When he turns back to you, you're nervous about how he'll respond. But, instead of saying anything, he takes a pen from his pocket, takes your hand, and writes something along the back of it, and then in your palm. It takes him a minute or two before he drops it and pockets the pen, waving to your friends before turning on his heel and jogging to catch up with the group.

You wait until he's gone to check your hand. You find a number messily scribbled in your palm, and on the back of your hand is written, ' I was kind of a hardass. text me here later, we'll talk '. 


	4. Apologies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You finally work up the nerve to text Aleks, and you both apologize for your behavior.

There's a part of you that wishes you had more confidence.

It's been a couple of hours since you'd left the con, you and your friends had spent the evening out to dinner before heading back to the hotel. Now, you sit by yourself, staring at your hand, where Aleks' half faded number is still written. You had accidentally almost washed it all off at the restaurant. You were thankful that you hadn't, but now you had no excuse as to why you wouldn't be able to text him like he'd asked. You sigh, flopping back onto the hotel bed and staring at the ceiling for a good five minutes before you decide to move.

Soon, you're laying up toward the pillows, phone in hand while the TV is turned on with the volume lowered. You've entered Aleks' number, but you find yourself staring at the blank message box, unsure of what to even type. You spend god knows how long overthinking what to say, and how to say it, before settling on a simple text:

     --> _Hey, its ( **Y/N** ). This is Aleks, right?_

There is no immediate response, but you understand that. He's probably doing something; con weekends are always both busy and exhausting. You drop your phone beside you and reach for the remote on the bedside table. Before you pick it up, you're startled by the  _ding!_ that comes from your phone. You ignore it in favor of grabbing the remote, and flipping through a few of the channels that the hotel offers. When you finally settle on something that you're interested in, your phone dings a few more times. Wondering if it's either of your friends, you pick your phone back up, surprised to see that all of the texts are from Aleks.

     --> _Hey (_ **Y/N** _)_  
     --> _Yeah it's me_  
     --> _I wanted to apologize for acting shitty earlier, so I'm sorry_  
     --> _Sometimes when I don't understand shit I get defensive_

You read and re-read the messages. It isn't necessarily the long apology you had thought it would be, but as short as he's being with it, he seems sincere. You think back to your small argument and cringe just a little. You probably could have acted a little nicer yourself. You ended up coming off a lot meaner than you would have liked.

     --> _It's okay_  
     --> _I was the one acting shitty_  
     --> _I know I said this already but you helped me out and I wasn't exactly grateful to you for that. I really do appreciate what you did, you could've let that guy get away with my stuff._

He takes hardly a second to text back this time, and you feel an odd sense of satisfaction that he's not making you wait.

     --> _I guess I could've, but I would've felt like an asshole_  
     --> _Idk who'd just stand by and let that shit happen_

Your apologies are... Sort of out of the way, so you change the topic after a few more minutes of back and forth. Something you''ve been wondering ever since he'd texted back with so many messages all at once.

     --> _You guys aren't busy or anything? You're texting back pretty fast. I know you guys probably have a packed schedule_

     --> _Brett said it earlier, we're just working on some stuff and chilling here_  
     --> _We get a little break on con weekends since we're filming here and not really worrying about other shit_  
     --> _Why? Are you busy?_

You snort, turning onto your side while you shake your head at the thought. You have some work to catch up on for your channel, but after today, you just aren't feeling it. He's right about having a break during the weekend. You're no team or part of any company like Cow Chop is, but when your fans know you'll be attending a con, they're already expecting your content to take a little longer. It's a given, you're only one person. You can't handle everything yourself in one day, not when you deserve to have a little fun doing your own thing at the con.

     --> _I probably should be, but I'm really exhausted after earlier_

     --> _Too exhausted to go out?_

That confuses you, and your brow narrows as you read this text. You can't imagine where he's going with this, but you can almost feel yourself sink into the comfort of the warm, albeit stiff, hotel bed. You already know the answer to his question, and your fingers are tapping away at your screen the minute you read it.

     --> _Probably. I don't know if I have it in me to do anything until tomorrow._  
     --> _You trying to invite me out or something?_

     --> _Kinda_

You bat your lashes at this text. You don't answer him right away, instead screenshotting the chat and sending the photo to one of your friends. You don't get a response from her either, that is, not until she's knocking at your door. You sigh, not wanting to get up but knowing she doesn't have a keycard to your room. You slink out of bed, leaving your phone on the bed as you head over to the door and open it up for her. She nearly tackles you when she enters.

"Oh. My. God. ( **Y/N** ). Did you reply to him?"  
"No. I don't know what to say."  
"You don't know what to say?! You say yes, is what you say, dude!"   
"But I'm tired!"

You whine your complaint to your friend, and she only responds by grabbing your shoulders. She even shakes you a little. "( **Y/N** )!  _Aleks Marchant himself_  said he wanted to invite  _you_  out! Isn't this like, your dream? I swear, the best things happen to you at the most inconvenient times, but I'm not letting you miss this opportunity. You're  _going._ "

You gently push her away from you. "But ( **F/N** ), I really am tired, I don't know if I want to go anywh--"

"Then ask him to come here!"

"What, to the hotel? By ourselves?" You question, looking at her a little incredulously. She can't be serious... But, the look on her face tells you that she really is. She wants you to spend time with Aleks, and you feel yourself relenting as she nearly begs you with just her eyes. 

"Fine, I-- I guess I'll see if he wants to come over."

She does a celebratory fist pump as you head back to your bed, where a few more texts from Aleks sit in your notifications.

     --> _That's not weird is it?_  
     --> _I know we kinda fought earlier and I get if you don't want to go out but tbh I was really hoping to talk to you_  
     --> _You seem cool and I really do like your shit on YT, I wasn't lying or anything_  
     --> _( **Y/N** )?_

     --> _Hey. Sorry, ( **F/N** ) came into my room and I was talking to her_  
     --> _I'm really not feeling like going out, but would you maybe wanna come to my hotel room? We can hang out here_  
     --> _That's probably a weirder offer than just going out_

     --> _No, that's not weird_  
     --> _I'd love to_  
     --> _You don't care if it's just me though?_

     --> _No, unless it makes you uncomfortable I don't really care_

     --> _Oh, ok_  
     --> _Where am I headed?_

You text him the address of the hotel after googling it, and give him your room number. Afterward, you show your friend your phone screen. She seems giddy, but just to be sure, you ask, "Are you happy now?"

"Yes! This is so fucking cool, you don't even know."  
"It feels weird. I've thought about this type of thing before but now that it's actually happening I don't know what to think."  
"Just be cool. I'll leave you alone if you want."  
"I guess that'd be best? You can stay if you want."  
"No, I have to get back to ( **F/N** ) anyway. Maybe next time you can tell Aleks to bring James."

She laughs when she says this, half joking and half not. But, she heads to your door and, as promised, leaves you alone with a wink and wish of good luck. You're not sure how long it'll take Aleks to get here, but when he sends you a text that simply says 'omw', you decide to clean yourself up a little...

Not that you cared what you looked like in front of him. It's only so you don't look as worn out as you feel. Definitely not because you want to look nice for him. Definitely not because you feel giddy as the minutes pass and you wash your face at the bathroom sink.

Not because of any of that.


	5. Whiskey & Conversation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aleks arrives with a special gift.

_Knock-knock._

_..._

_Knock-knock-knock._

_..._

_"( **Y/N** )?"_

You awake, back in your bed at the hotel. You feel disoriented and stare toward your door, narrowing your eyes at the sound of your own name. The knocking continues.

"( **Y/N** )...? It's me, uh, it's Aleks... Hello?"

Aleks...?

You sit straight up, eyes wide open as you scramble off of the bed.  _How could you have fallen asleep?!_ Nearly tripping over your own feet, you make your way to the door and open it up to see him, hand raised and in the position to knock again. He seems a little stunned at how fast you'd pulled the door open, but he offers an awkward smile, a bag in his opposite hand. 

"Uh.. Hey, did I interrupt something?"

"Oh-- No, no," You assure him, stepping aside so he can come in. "I fell asleep." You shut the door behind him and wander past him, back to your bed so you can retrieve your phone. When you check the time, you realize you've only been asleep for about fifteen minutes. Waking up had felt like you'd napped for thirty years. You sigh and run a hand through your hair, but ultimately smile to Aleks. 

"You can, like, sit anywhere you want."  
"Oh. Sure, yeah."

He does as you say, taking the couch placed right night to the hotel window. While you smooth your hair, you take full notice of the bag and tilt your head. When you're about to ask about it, he cuts you off.

"I know that we kinda got out apologies done and shit and maybe you don't wanna talk about it anymore, but, I brought some shit over just in case. I still felt kinda bad."

You nod, gesturing toward the bag as if silently asking him to tell you what he's brought. He does, pulling a bottle of whiskey from the bag. Your face must betray your confusion, as you find panic in his not a moment later. You can almost feel the change in the atmosphere, and you can almost see the nervous sweat begin to pour off of him. 

"--I mean, I know whisky isn't everybody's preference but I read it's a good apology.. gift.. thing. Shit, I don't know, I just figured it'd be a good idea. I guess it's fuckin' stupid though, I don't even know if you drink."  
"I mean, I do, but I can't remember ever having whisky that looked so... Expensive."

And the bottle really does look like something out of a movie, sleek and black with bold white print that boasts its distillery in Scotland and the company's establishment in 1798. You could imagine it sitting beautifully on some bar counter in a commercial on TV, the ones where the skit was narrated by a deep and sultry voice. Promises of warmth and spice, among imagery that somehow made sense when it came to the taste of the liquor.

You're lost in the bottle's design, too lost to notice Aleks has addressed you again.

"Huh?" You suddenly snap out of it, noticing that he's taken to staring at you, probably in wait for your response.

"I said, is it okay? It's cool if it's not, I probably should've asked, but I wanted it to be a surprise."  
"No, I mean, yeah, it's fine, and it's fine that you just brought it. I'll try it, I appreciate that you wanted to patch things up this bad."

That's when you step closer, cautiously reaching forward for the bottle. He hands it to you with no problem and you hold it as if it were your firstborn. For some reason, as you turn it over in your hands, you feel like it has to be handled with the utmost care. Again, you address the price.

"This really looks expensive, Aleks, how much was it?"  
"It doesn't matter, uh, there's cups in here, right? I kinda blanked on getting glasses."  
"Yeah, hold on." 

You place the whiskey back into his hands and head over to the counter where the coffee maker sits. Beside it is a stack of Styrofoam cups, not the classiest thing you've ever drank out of, but considering the dishware is lacking and you're not going to buy glasses for the occasion, they'll have to do. You slip two off of the stack and bring them over, and when you sit down beside Aleks he's already opened the bottle. You watch him, almost blankly as he pours each cup only partway full. You keep replaying the passing time in your head, in disbelief that you're really here, with Aleks, about to drink. Not even your dreams had prepared you for such a moment.

You reach for one of the cups, but Aleks palms the back of your hand, stopping you mid-reach.

"Hold on, ( **Y/N** ). I got one more thing." 

You can only wonder what that may be, but you withdraw your hand and rest it in your lap, waiting patiently as he picks up the same bag from before. You'd thought it empty, the way he had balled it up and set it on the floor, but he proves you wrong immediately as he seems to unwrap it from around something. A moment later, he's pulled chocolates out of your bag. This pleases you, as you're a big fan of chocolate ( then again, who isn't? ). He seems to relax at the look on your face this time, and he hands them over. 

"Here. When you were passed out earlier I heard you mention something about chocolate. Maybe you were having a stupid fever dream, but I had a hunch."  
"Wow... That's... Embarrassing. I mean, thank you though. I appreciate this a lot. It feels like it's almost too much for what happened."

You laugh a little, but toy with the chocolates as you say so. If you didn't know better, you would swear that this was him flirting with you. But, you do know better, and you remind yourself this is his apology, not an attempt to woo you. Regardless, you look up to him and smile, but glance toward the cups that sit in front of the both of you on the folding snack table Aleks had tugged over in front of the couch. He chuckles and nods to you, allowing you to finally pick the cup up.

What follows is an evening you had not expected. While you had been exhausted from the day's events, the stress seems to melt away as time goes on. You talk, drink, laugh, and have an overall nice time with him. It only ends when you hazily realize that Aleks has gotten drunk - far too drunk to drive back. The only option you have is to offer your bed, and he agrees, the both of of you falling into bed after cleaning things up... As best as you could, anyway. 

Despite being tired, you lie awake together, continuing your conversation until you doze off, half wrapped up in the sheets and, without either of you realizing, tucked away in his arms. 


	6. Change of Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You wake up after your night with Aleks. What does the next day hold for you?

You wake up to the sound of your alarm, and it's almost as if you're repeating yesterday morning. You grunt slightly and have barely moved an inch. You're tangled in the hotel bedsheets, somehow curled up into the fetal position with your head buried beneath the pillows instead of on top of them. You slowly unfurl, getting ready to get up and turn your alarm off...

And then it turns off on its own.

You turn over in a flash, only further wrapping yourself up into the sheets. The sudden movement causes the body beside you to flinch. You wiggle, just enough to get your hands out of the mess of blankets and press the pillow in front of your face down. You see Aleks, staring back at you with bleary eyes and with your phone in his hand. There are a quiet few moments that hang between you, and he gestures toward you with the phone.

"Morning. Your alarm sucks."  
"I know. That's why it's my alarm."

Inside, you're definitely flustered. You'd forgotten Aleks had spent the night, yet here you are in bed with one another. You take your phone back from him to check the time, and you're shocked enough to try and flail out of your blanket prison. You fail and roll off of the bed onto the floor, Aleks staring at you the entire way down. Your head hurts, but you realize that the alarm that had just gone off is the latest alarm you'd set. You're due to be at the con again in twenty minutes! When you finally free yourself, you stand and run to your suitcase.

"What's wrong?"  
"I'm late!!" 

You shout it, without really realizing, and he seems unbothered by the time. You pull out an outfit - thank god you'd planned ahead - and scurry to the bathroom, realizing that you can't change in the middle of the room. You feel like you're doing everything at once, and you kind of are. You've got your shirt half on and your toothbrush hangs from your mouth. You end up with a splotch of toothpaste on your shirt when a knock on the door startles you, and you whine. Your shirt had to be changed now, and you remove it and rinse your mouth before you answer the knock.

"Yeah...?"  
"Uh... Can I get in the bathroom? I  _really_  have to pee, dude."

Uh oh. You sigh, gathering your clothes from yesterday along with your newly stained shirt, holding them up to your chest as you open up the door, nearly colliding with Aleks as you pass. You're both in a rush, him to get in, and you to get out. He only seems to notice you're shirtless at the last second when he closes the door behind him. You roll your eyes and sift through your suitcase to find an extra shirt, you know you packed more than a few extra things. You've just slipped it on when he comes back out, and you turn toward him and squint.

He seems confused, and his expression reads both that and displeasure at your stare. Almost like he feels it's undeserved.

"What?"

You look him up and down once, disgust evident on your face.

"I didn't hear the sink."  
"So?"  
"Go wash your hands!"  
"Why do you care, dawg? It's not like--"  
"Just do it, that's nasty." 

Defeated immediately, he turns around, hands up in mock surrender as he goes to do what you say. You shake your head, grabbing one of the plastic laundry bags from the hotel and sticking your clothes into it while you begin to hum. Aleks returns a few minutes later, sarcastically asking if you were satisfied. You shrug, rubbing your eyes as you continue to get ready for the day. When you check your phone again, you see that you've got about five more minutes, and you know you're not going to make it in time. Your friends haven't texted you yet either, which is odd but understandable. You have no doubt that they'd probably come to try and wake you up, and you hadn't answered.

"Aleks?"

You turn to face him, and he's over on the couch, rubbing the bridge of his nose. It seems the both of you are feeling a little gross from the night before, but it's nothing you haven't experienced before. You're sure the same goes for him. He meets your gaze and you flush a little, hesitating before you speak up.

"Would you... Uh, mind driving me back to the convention center?"

He nods, preparing to stand. When he does, he slips his phone into his pocket, and he's maybe halfway to the door when he pauses.

"Actually... ( **Y/N** ), what if you just, like, didn't go?"

You try to comprehend that, in case you'd heard him wrong. Did he just ask you not to go to the con? That made no sense. Didn't he have to be there himself? And you'd paid good money to go! You can't just let that all go to waste. What reason did he even have to ask? It seems like your question is written on your forehead because he speaks up again before you can ask him anything.

"I don't think I'm up for it today. We could go do some other shit instead."  
"Aleks, I don't think that's a good idea. I spent a lot of money to get here and I don't think my friends would be too happy if I just stiffed them. They're probably already mad at me as it is for not getting up on time."

You tell him this as you grab your bag, and as you stick your keycard in your pocket, he turns to fully face you.

"I can pay you back, dude. What was it, like two-fifty? C'mon. The guys aren't gonna be around today, I want  _someone_  to hang out with."

You hesitate in answering him this time, shocked that he'd offered to pay you back and doubtful about skipping the convention in favor of doing... Well, whatever it is that he wants to do. He waits there for an answer, and eventually, you hear ( **F/N** ) in the back of your head urging you to go along with it. Her voice nags you about how many opportunities you've missed because of your overthinking. So you sigh, and you relent, your shoulders dropping in defeat as you simply nod in agreement. Aleks seems excited at the opportunity, and he heads for the door again, this time with more energy in his step.

Making sure you have your key card, you leave, sighing to yourself as the door shuts behind the both of you. Whatever he has in mind, you hope it's something worth missing today.


End file.
